If things have gotten really bad, please talk to someone right away. If you don't have time to get to your GP fast enough, here are some phone numbers you can use right away.
If you need to go to hospital for psychiatric services, you are covered as a public patient under Medicare. To be covered as a private patient, you'll need private hospital cover. Specifically, you'll need a hospital policy that has full coverage for psychiatric services. A lot of cheaper policies have restricted cover for this, but that will cover very little of the treatment costs, so make sure you get something with proper coverage. This is always covered under Gold policies, but can be covered on some Bronze Plus and Silver Plus roles too.
Psychiatric care has some special waiting periods exemptions. Psychiatric care has a 2 month waiting period, even if there are pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions normally trigger a 12 month waiting period, but this one is an exception.
All prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and living in Sydney.
Why compare health insurance with Finder?
We don't ask for your phone or email to see prices.
With 1 click, you can open your results to nearly every fund in Australia.
You pay the same price as going direct – we charge no fees.
Why compare with us
Our customers trust us
Mental health refers to how you feel emotionally and psychologically and how you're able to weather the ups and downs of life. It covers all of the following:
You can think of mental illness as a health problem that significantly affects any of the abilities mentioned above. According to the Black Dog Institute, a leading non-profit Australian mental health organisation, one in five Australians is living with a mental illness at any given time.
Mental health treatment sometimes requires a cocktail of treatments and medications. Luckily, there is a variety of professionals who are trained to treat various aspects of mental illness. These include:
In 2006, the Australian government launched the Better Access initiative, which gives people improved access to mental health treatments under Medicare.
Under this initiative, anyone with a mental health issue is covered for up to 10 sessions with a qualified psychologist and psychiatrist. All that's required is that you see your GP first to get a mental health treatment plan.
If you require hospitalisation, Medicare will cover you for treatment in a public hospital.
Get the lowdown on what's happening, so you can get a better deal on your health insurance.
Frank Health Insurance provides Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC) for 457, 482 and 485 visas. Find out if it has a policy that's right for you.
Need health cover for gastroscopy? Find out how private health insurance and Medicare cover treatment and compare the costs for the most affordable option.
Review the various ahm health insurance options available and helps you decide whether any of its policies are what you need.
Medibank offers policy options to suit people with a wide range of needs and budgets.
Frank Insurance, owned by GMHBA, aims to make health insurance simple, easy to understand and affordable.
Looking for health cover? This article helps you by looking at HCF's health insurance options and lets you decide whether any of its policies are what you need.
If you’re looking for private health insurance in Victoria, compare the most popular health funds in your state and how much it costs to take out cover.
Bupa health insurance offers different levels of cover for better health services but also provides tax benefits and prevents government penalties.